An attack-minded scheme: Pressure key for Burros in Hope's 3-3 stack

Monday

Jul 29, 2013 at 1:44 PM

It's not a surprise that Burroughs will run a 3-3 stack defense this season, the same scheme they've had since 2004. What comes as more of a surprise is that this defense came to the Burros from a Desert Sky League rival.

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

It's not a surprise that Burroughs will run a 3-3 stack defense this season, the same scheme they've had since 2004. What comes as more of a surprise is that this defense came to the Burros from a Desert Sky League rival.Burroughs defensive coordinator Bob Hope got the 3-3 stack concept a decade ago from Bakersfield head coach Paul Golla, who was then the head coach at Silverado. Since then, Hope has fine-tuned and tweaked the defensive scheme into what the Burros will run during the 2013 season."I've tried to develop it each year," Hope said. "Right now it's solid."The Burros call their version the 3-3 pressure stack because it brings exactly that — pressure. Their 33- stack involves blitzing on nearly every snap."Most 4-3 defenses are read-type defenses — they're reading the offense and reacting," Hope said. "We are an attacking defense designed to apply pressure."What the Burros lack in size on defense this season they plan to make up for with speed, starting with the line. The conventional look of three down lineman will be anything but conventional, including the possibility that 5-foot-8-inch, 155-pound senior Trevor Baker could see action at nose tackle on third downs — despite giving up seven inches and weighing half as much as a typical college player at that position."What's different about our defense is that the guys that are up front, for the majority, are guys that should be playing linebacker," Hope said. "They're fast, they're strong and they're quick." Burroughs' three linemen won't be crossing the line of scrimmage alone once the ball is snapped. Hope said he plans to bring pressure from different players and areas of the field on every play, and rush as many as four non-lineman."We very seldom have just three-man pressure — it's four-man pressure, five-man pressure or six-man pressure, and there have been times when we'll bring seven guys," Hope said. "We're gap sound — on every play we make sure that we have a player who's covering a gap and a half, and there's overlap on their responsibilities so between the down linemen and the linebackers we have every gap covered." Before the snap, each line of the defense — linemen, linebackers and secondary — has at least two different looks they can provide to throw off the opposing offense. As complex as all this may look on the field, Hope said Burroughs' defensive playbook is relatively simple by comparison, consisting of only 15 plays."The plays that I use are very effective — I have right pressure, left pressure, middle pressure, very little pressure and a lot of pressure," Hope said. "The idea is not having to think about anything. Rest and get ready for the next play — you only have a few seconds — and then go. They don't have to think, and they can just perform and execute."Positioning is another aspect of Burroughs' defense that keeps things simple. Instead of having a strong and weak side that requires switching based on the offense's alignment, the Burros line players up on the left and right side of the ball."Guys on either side have to be versatile," Hope said. "They have to be able to blitz, move around and cover the pass, so we don't designate a strong side or a weak side."The development of this defense was to combat the spread offense that didn't huddle. We don't huddle — plays are called from the sideline, we have a wrist coach with a number on it and that play is designated. We're ready for any no-huddle, hurry-up or quick-snap situation." Hope's formula for defensive success in 2013 is also simple — hold opponents to 19 points or less and force at least 12 takeaways per game. He defines a takeaway as a fumble recovery, interception or forcing a three-and-out. "It's a different concept, but it makes a lot of sense that we would attempt to do that because our job as a defense is to put the offense in a position to score and to get the ball back for them so that they can score," Hope said.Burroughs returns three starters on defense from last year's team that finished 6-6. Hope said he is excited to see how 2013 edition, led by linebacker Richie Villa and lineman Ethan Haddock, performs when pads are put on next month."For the most part these are all new guys and I'm excited to see these guys perform," Hope said. "We've worked so hard this offseason."Burroughs starts two-a-day practices on Aug. 5, leading up to its scrimmage against Sierra Canyon 18 days later. The Burros kick off the 2013 regular season at home against Palmdale on Aug. 30.